Growing up, the kitchen was something I ran away from. Anything more than browning beef or stirring something for a few minutes and I was out of there! As a young adult and young wife, I have chosen *by my own free will* to take on the stereotypical role of "wife" and I have learned to cook!
Sunday's have turned into our designated grocery shopping days and we plan out a weeks worth of meals as we prepare our list. Currently, there are a decent amount of nights that we don't eat at home as we participate in church events that provide dinner (PRAISE!) but during the summer, we ate at home almost every night.
I wanted to share a few of my favorite recipes that I have tried so far:
Chicken Parmigiana (but I should really call it chicken mozzarella because I go very light with the parmigiana) baked and served over pasta.
As someone who doesn't enjoy casserole...I refuse to call this casserole...but I guess it is because you put it all together and you bake it...in a casserole dish.After making this once, I added more sauce and cheese to fit my own taste and I use different pasta's each time to enjoy the different sizes and textures.
Stove-Top Pork Chops, Chicken, Steak or Fish (from The Joy Of Cooking)
Many recipes I want to try call for broiling...but that is just not something I understand, and the one time I tried it was pretty rough (feel free to comment with any tips for this).Instead, I opt for pan-searing anything and everything! This allows me to make dinner in about half an hour (including the sides and what-not) without being too box-heavy (except for the sides...the sides can be very box-heavy :) ).
Normally I just season with salt and pepper, I prep my pan with olive oil and butter, then I sear the meat on both sides and let it simmer, covered, until cooked (between 5 and 8 minutes depending on the meat).
We pair these with either a Suddenly Pasta Salad (classic or ranch and bacon) or a canned veggie, and we eat a salad with dark greens with almost every meal.
A normal week for us could look like this:
-Monday: Pork chops, pasta salad (box), and a salad
-Tuesday: Rice, Beans, Salad (very fulfilling meal without the heavy feeling!)
-Wednesday: Chapel = dinner at church!
-Thursday: I have Bible study and my dinner is provided, Eric may have leftovers, breakfast food, soup, or a frozen entree
-Friday: Eat out because there is probably something sports-related happening during dinner so Eric will be working and I will be there as well
-Saturday: Possibly another night out, or a frozen/prepared entree depending on the schedule
-Sunday: This past Sunday I made burgers like my mom: ground beef combined with the Lipton onion soup mix, and we had french fries (frozen)
When we get pressed for time, Eric and I will turn to the always easy BLT (microwave bacon if we have it because cleaning up after frying bacon is the worst), a childhood favorite of mine: chicken chow mien with crunchy rice noodles, or beans and rice (with minute rice if we are really in a rush).Learning to cook has been such a cool experience for me! As far as baking goes, I have made brownies and hot chocolate from scratch (The Joy of Cooking) with the help of my sister-in-law, Kalyssa, and I have made Hersey's "Perfectly Chocolate Chocolate Cake," complete with the icing, all from scratch as well!
